Defiantly Defied
by StarksViolet
Summary: One Shot: set during Iron Man 2, had Rhodey pushed harder to learn the truth about Tony's problem
1. Chapter 1

**Here's a little piece for those who like gap fillers from the movies**

Rhodey spoke to him, he heard him say that the government were going to take his suits, he heard him saying how he was wrong with everything he said about the technology.

'Tony, are you listening to me?' Rhodey said leaning against the Hot Rod.

He heard him but he didn't know what to say, nor whether there was anything _to _say. Rhodey was right. He messed up.

'You ok?' Rhodey touched his arm.

Tony's head lulled to the side, he felt weak, he barely managed the strength to look Rhodey in the eyes. Rhodey's expression changed.

Tony quickly nodded, 'Let's go.' He eased himself out of the car, he felt Rhodey's eyes on him, he felt himself lose balance, he grabbed on to the car, Rhodey rushed to his side and stopped him from falling.

'Tony, you ok?' He breathed.

'Yeah, I should get to my desk.' Tony managed, 'see the cigar box, it's palladium.' He breathed.

Rhodey helped him into the chair, and opened the box pulling out a cartridge of palladium. Tony handed him the reactor, Rhodey's face hardened.

'Is that supposed to be smoking?' He muttered.

Tony looked at him sideways, 'if you must know, it's neutron damage.' he explained.

Rhodey replaced the damaged cartridge with the new one and handed it back to Tony, he replaced the reactor and took a sip of the chlorophyll.

Rhodey stood behind him, 'and what about the high-tech crossword puzzle on your neck?'

Tony glanced back at him, 'road rash.' he said sarcastically.

After a few moments of silence Rhodey pulled up a chair and sat beside him, 'you don't have to do this alone.'

'I would really like to believe that.' Tony said quietly.

Rhodey sighed, 'what's going on Tony?' He asked him finally.

Tony shook his head, 'nothing.'

'Tony, you can't lie to _me._' Rhodey looked at him intently. 'You can tell me.'

Tony sighed, 'it's nothing you need to know about.'

'I'm not leaving until you do, man.' Rhodey said sternly.

'Rhodey.' Tony looked at him, 'there's nothing to tell.'

'Tony, you don't just develop cross words on your neck, and produce smoking palladium from your chest, there's definitely _something _to tell.' Rhodey looked at him.

'I can't, believe me, if I could, I would.' Tony tried to reason with him.

Rhodey rubbed his face with both hands, 'what are you afraid of?' he asked him quietly.

He leaned closer to him, the dark circles under Tony's eyes were pronounced, the exhaustion was evident.

Tony smiled weakly at him, 'everything.'

'This is bad, isn't it?' Rhodey gestured to the damaged core.

Tony nodded.

'How bad?' Rhodey questioned him.

'Really bad.' Tony breathed.

They looked at each other knowingly.

'How long?' Rhodey looked away from his friend.

Tony leaned back in his chair 'four or five weeks, give or take.'

Rhodey nodded, 'but you're going to fix it, right, you're working on something?'

'There's nothing, I've tried everything.' Tony admitted.

'There has to be, you figured _this_ out in a cave, you can do it here, with everything you need.' Rhodey rambled on.

'It's not that simple,' Tony began, 'there are no elements which are a suitable replacement for palladium, there's nothing left.'

Rhodey stood up, he paced back and forth, 'you can't give up, there has to be _something_.' Rhodey said finally.

Tony sighed, 'if there is, I'll find it.' He stood up and clapped Rhodey on the shoulder.

'If?' Rhodey questioned him.

Tony nodded, 'if.'

Tony motioned for Rhodey to follow him, he needed to get upstairs and get on top of the situation, damage control was needed, and he needed to be the one to do it.

They walked up stairs together, Rhodey cleared his throat. 'Does Pepper know?' Rhodey asked as they made their way up.

'No, she doesn't need to.' Tony said quietly.

Rhodey sighed, 'she cares about you, I think you should tell her.'

Tony shook his head, 'no, I can't do that to her.' Tony took the stairs two at a time, widening the space between them, not allowing Rhodey any more opportunities to question his choices.

Rhodey stood by the door as Tony made his way to talk to Pepper and Natalie. He watched on as Pepper chastised him, he watched on as Natalie tried to defend him, and he watched on as Tony put up a façade of calm. He lied better than any person should be able to. No one saw the change in him, but Rhodey did. He saw the ever defiant Tony Stark, defied by his own creation, falling farther and farther into an abyss, an abyss which terrified him. He saw the look of panic in his eyes as he slowly lost control of the world he clung to. Everyone saw his retreat from the world as an attempt to hide from the political backlash of the events in Monaco, Rhodey knew otherwise, he knew that he was bracing himself, preparing for the inevitable.

**I always, secretly wished that Tony told Rhodey what was going on, at least to have a friend in the situation! So let me know what you think :)**


	2. You're my brother

**And here's a little piece I thought up whilst at work… a big thanks to Stark'sGirl who got my butt into gear to write this! Hope you all enjoy !**

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Rhodey knew there was something wrong. Tony was known for his eccentric behaviour, and sometimes completely reckless actions. But this was different.

He watched on in horror as the F1 car was catapulted into the air, the reported on the news sounded horrified. He felt his breath catch as he waited for the car to crash into the ground below. A sickening sound filled his ears and the world seemed to stand still.

'Jesus.' as he got to his feet, all he could think was find Pepper, find Happy. They were half way around the world and witnessing this in person. He could only imagine what Pepper was going through.

Whether she ever admitted it to herself or to Tony, everyone knew there was something between them. He saw the way she looked at Tony, and the way he would casually steal a moment to glance at her.

He pressed his phone to his ear and arranged one of Tony's personal jets to take him to Monaco immediately.

The entire flight was silent, save for the occasional announcements from the pilot advising him of changes in flight conditions. As a pilot himself, Rhodey appreciated it and the momentary distraction it offered.

He closed his eyes and leaned against the head rest, he couldn't get the image out of his head, the car smashing into the ground, pieces flying everywhere, how anyone could survive that was beyond him. His brief conversation with Pepper confirmed Tony was alive, she didn't mention his condition, and he feared to find out when he landed.

When Tony had gone missing in Afghanistan, he blamed himself. He let a civilian get captured whilst in the protection of a military convoy. He should have made him drive in the same hum-vee.

He was his best friend and he failed to protect him. The torture he sustained over the three month capture was horrific, nothing anyone could prepare for. He knew Tony suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, he could see it in the way he held his breath around water, or in the way he would discretely cover his chest when he was in public. He could never get Tony to open up and tell anyone what happened, but Pepper told him of the constant nightmares which plagued him when she stayed at the house working late nights.

They tried to work out what they could say or do to make it easier for him to talk about it, but the truth was, Rhodey was scared to hear about it. He didn't think he could handle hearing how they tortured him and how he was awake when they drilled into his chest to implant what was now an arc reactor. That was the only information Tony let slip, everything else was a complete secret.

Rhodey however had his own share of sleepless nights, where he kicked and screamed in his dreams on an almost daily basis as the bomb exploded on the road over and over again as he watched Tony's bloody body getting dragged away and not being able to do a damned thing about it.

'Preparing for landing.' The pilot announced over the radio.

Rhodey shook his head out of his thoughts and looked out of the small window tapping his fingers impatiently on the glass.

Happy had met him at the airport and informed him of the minor injuries Tony had sustained, he also mentioned that he wasn't talking to anyone and something was definitely wrong.

Rhodey followed as he was led to the private floor of an exquisite French hotel, he found Pepper waiting just outside his room.

Her eyes were red and she just shook her head, 'something's really wrong; he's not talking to anyone.' She whispered as Rhodey nodded and walked past her.

He found Tony sitting alone in the room and he hesitantly walked toward him. He took in the sight, the curtains were drawn and Tony sat beside the window with a glass of scotch in one hand and the other resting on his leg.

'Are you alright?' Rhodey finally asked.

Tony didn't look up, he simply nodded.

Rhodey sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, 'what were you thinking man?'

Tony supressed a quiet laugh and simply shrugged.

'Pepper was really worried,' Rhodey knelt beside him, the distant look in the billionaires eyes was terrifying, he looked away and down at his own hands, 'that was beyond your usual party tricks, what's going on Tony?'

He sighed and turned to face Rhodey who looked up at him, 'one last birthday present to myself.'

Rhodey considered his words, 'seriously, what's going?'

He swallowed the lump in his throat as he noticed the dullness in Tony's eyes and the smile which hid the sadness.

Tony looked away from him and handed him a small device.

Rhodey looked down at the display, 'what is this, blood toxicity?' he looked up at Tony who had looked back to the closed window.

Rhodey stood up and walked around to stand in front of him to block his view, 'what is this?' He repeated, a desperate urgency conveyed only a miniscule percentage of the panic which he felt rising within his body.

'Tony?' He leaned in and squeezed his shoulder, 'what is this?'

Tony pushed him away and stood up, he silently walked over to the minibar and retrieved a new bottle of scotch and he poured Rhodey a fresh glass and refilled his own.

'Drink with me.' He said quietly and pushed the glass into Rhodey's hand.

He silently took it and sat beside Tony who took his seat on the couch by the window again.

'I don't have many of these things left you know,' he gestured to the window, 'views, and travelling, all that other stuff people seem to enjoy.'

Rhodey cleared his throat, 'you need to tell me what's going on.'

Tony nodded and met Rhodey's gaze, 'I'm not going to be around much longer, so you know, I guess one starts becoming sentimental.'

He took a sip from glass and sighed heavily, 'I screwed up with this,' he tapped the reactor with his free hand, 'I got some stuff wrong and it's killing me, so, now you know.' He looked back at him.

Rhodey sat in stunned silence; he couldn't take his eyes off Tony, 'does-,' he looked down at his hands, '-does anyone know?'

Tony shook his head, 'don't say anything,' he looked at him, 'please.'

Rhodey nodded, 'you can't be, I mean, you're going to fix it right, that's what you do?'

Tony smiled and looked down at the glass in his hand; the swirling liquid gave him little courage. He chewed his bottom lip, 'there's nothing left to try.'

Rhodey stood up abruptly, 'no, there has to be, you survived _three_ _months_ of torture in Afghanistan, _alone_, you can do this!'

'I wasn't alone.' Tony said in almost a whisper.

'What?' Rhodey looked at him impatiently.

'I wasn't alone, there was someone else with me, he saved my life, his name was Yinsen,' Tony closed his eyes, 'I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for him.'

Rhodey dropped down on the couch beside him again, 'you did this, the reactor.' Rhodey tried to make sense of what he was hearing.

Tony shook his head, 'I made this, but he saved me, he operated, he implanted the car battery and magnet which kept me breathing so that I could build this.'

'But _you_ survived; you created the impossible to live.' Rhodey refused to accept what he was hearing, 'you can do it again.'

Tony stifled a laugh, 'it's not that simple this time.'

Rhodey shook his head, 'no,' he wanted to cry, he couldn't believe he was listening to his best friend tell him he was dying, 'no, I won't let you give up.'

Tony smiled, 'it'll be ok.'

'You're my best friend.' Rhodey managed, he didn't know how he held back as long as he did, he stood up with his back to tony and squeezed the bridge of his nose.

'I thought I was going to die, in Afghanistan,' Tony spoke, startling Rhodey out of his own thoughts, he looked over his shoulder to Rhodey, 'I was so terrified and I'm pretty sure I cried almost every time they tried to get me to cooperate,' he swallowed hard, 'they used to do this thing where they'd dunk my head in a trough, but only deep enough to make contact with the magnet I was connected to, it would burn me, and hurt like hell but after a few minutes I usually passed out.'

Rhodey stood silently listening.

'They would revive me, and do it again,' Tony took a sip from his glass, 'but you know, most days it would be ok, it would only be a few hours here and there, but some days they really took their time, they would try electro shock and other really creative ways to get me to talk and when they failed they'd go to the good old fashioned drowning technique.'

Rhodey felt sick, and weak, and absolutely furious, he made his way to a small chair which sat in the corner of the room and collapsed into it.

Tony walked over to the window and pulled the blinds open, the beautiful view was breathtaking, and it only angered Rhodey more.

Tony leaned against the window pane, 'I realised after the first month that I could probably only last a few more days if it continued, so I told them I'd build the missile, that's when I built the Mark 1.'

Rhodey dropped his head into his hands.

Tony looked out over the ocean and the pristine surrounds, 'they were going to kill me, regardless of what I did, so I gave them what they wanted or so they thought, I couldn't take it anymore, I don't know if that made me weak but all I could hear was her voice, I knew I had to fight and come home.'

Rhodey looked up at him, he came home for Pepper and he can do it again.

'You did the right thing, you did well.' Rhodey said quietly.

Tony only nodded.

'You can beat this, I know you can.' Rhodey added, 'whatever they did, they made you stronger, they gave you a reason to live and fight, don't let them take that from you.'

'I'm not, I'm just...' Tony shrugged and let his gaze drop to the floor, 'I don't know what else I can do.'

Rhodey made his way over to him, 'you're my brother and I can't watch you die, man, I can't.'

Tony looked at him and offered a smile, the usual energy and enthusiasm was long gone, and in its place all that remained was a ghostly reminder, 'I know.'

'Don't leave us Tony, I _know_ sometimes it's crazy, and we don't see eye to eye, but I can't lose you, and Happy would be at a loss, he wouldn't know who to annoy, and what about Pepper, I see the way she looks at you, if she loses you…' he trailed off, he couldn't finish the sentence, he couldn't finish the thought, 'don't leave, ok?'

Tony nodded with a smile, 'I'll see what I can do.'

Rhodey knew that a pep talk wasn't a miracle cure, and he knew only Tony could provide that. But he had never, in his life seen Tony give up on anything and that's what terrified him.

The look in his eyes said far more than he cared to admit, he was content and he knew what was coming. Rhodey could only hope that perhaps his words were enough to ignite something, to push him and drive him.

He knew that the eccentric billionaire was far more than what the world saw, and for once he saw more than he had known too.

Tony offered Rhodey a smile and took the empty glass from him and placed it on the table, 'let's go, we have a birthday party to plan.' Tony looked at Rhodey and clapped him on the shoulder, 'come on sour patch, don't keep me waiting.'

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**There will be more one shots like this, I enjoy them as a bit of a break from the longer pieces.**

**Let me know what you think, also if there are any requests for what you'd like to see done!**


	3. The hole in the sky

**Well here is one that I was requested to write, so I hope I've done well, and you're happy with what this piece turned out to be, Stark'sGirl! (I know you wanted POST avengers, I thought this may be more feely, hope that's ok)**

**SO….Iron Man 3 was NOTHING like what I expected. I must admit, at first I was quite disappointed. Then I watched it again with a fresh perspective, and now I LOVE it, it was amazingly Pepperony! And RDJ is so awesome!**

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The events of New York were broadcast live, all over the globe.

Rhodey's eyes darted from screen to screen, watching on in horror as the live footage of the battle was broadcast from all angles.

On one screen he watched as a giant green man fought with a dozen or more aliens and on another he watched Tony flying across the screen getting fired upon by aliens hot on his tail, he watched on as the team Tony referred to as The Avengers, fought hard to contain the sheer panic which spilled over onto the streets below.

Amongst all the chaos happening on the ground, the sky above New York was ripped open by an intergalactic tear, dozens if not thousands more aliens poured through the hole.

He gripped his phone tightly in his hand as his mind flashed to Pepper. What was she going through? Where was she? Where was Happy? He couldn't stop himself from dropping into the chair behind him as the bile in the back of his throat rose and threatened to erupt. He swallowed hard and watched the scenes unfold before him.

The images of The Avengers fighting were hard to watch, they were hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched. The aliens had sophisticated, high-tech weapons and the only Avenger which even came close to scratching the technological surface was Tony, and he was getting absolutely overwhelmed by their attacks.

Rhodey gripped the edge of the chair ignoring the many fellow soldiers who had joined him; they all stood around watching the reports. Hushed whispers behind him were a reminder of the true nature of what was happening on the other side of the world where they couldn't do anything but watch.

The air force had called back their strike teams, Rhodey and the others had argued, but ultimately it was not a decision which was theirs to make. He knew who's it was and that's what made him worry even more. He knew which higher division was responsible for this, S.H.I.E.L.D, and he knew what it meant; they weren't risking any more casualties. Rhodey swallowed hard.

'We should be there helping them.' One of the men behind Rhodey muttered.

Another sat beside him, 'of course we should, this is completely ridiculous.'

Rhodey didn't take his eyes of the screens.

The men sat in silence and no further words were exchanged. The safety of their make shift office was silent save for the news reports.

'What are the official stories?' One of the men to Rhodey's right spoke up.

'Check the secure channel.' Another turned to the man and gestured for him to switch on a live feed from the United States Military Base.

Chatter of insignificance infected the radio waves and Rhodey grew increasingly agitated. He tapped his foot nervously and only stopped when the chatter became substantially more relevant.

Word of a planned nuclear attack became the topic. He instantly perked up and listened intently; not a word was said as the men shared looks of shock and terror.

'They can't be serious?' One finally spoke up.

Rhodey shook his head, 'of course they're serious, why do you think they didn't send us in?' He squeezed his hands into fists and stood up, 'the Avengers are expendable to the United States Government, they don't belong to any division and that's why they sent _them_ in,' he paced back and forth, 'so they can keep their hands clean.'

Looks of bewilderment crossed the faces of the men before him. He shook his head and sighed deeply.

'What do we do Colonel?' One man spoke directly to him, a young man whom Rhodey was quite fond of, he recognised a lot of himself in this man.

Rhodey pinched the bridge of his nose, 'let me make a phone call.'

Rhodey stepped out of the office and dialled Tony's number with trembling hands, 'pick up Tony,' he leaned heavily against the door.

His heart raced as the phone rang and rang, 'come on,' he whispered.

Agonising silence was all he received, he slammed his hand against the wall in frustration and dialled again, this time he rang Pepper.

Her panicked voice greeted him sending chills down his spine, he leaned his forehead against the closed door.

'What's happening Rhodey, I heard what they're planning on doing, they can't do that, they'll kill everyone.' She barely managed the words, 'they can't.'

Rhodey closed his eyes, 'they are, they're going to blow the island, they think it's the only way to neutralise the threat.'

'Tony's there, Rhodey.' She whimpered.

Rhodey sighed, he knew what Tony was like and he knew what his best friend would do and he feared this wouldn't end well, 'he'll be ok, you'll see.' He lied.

Pepper's voice broke on the other end and her shaky sigh was enough to tell Rhodey she knew he was lying, 'keep me posted.'

'I will.' Rhodey nodded.

He disconnected the call and tried Tony again, a few rings went unanswered and then finally a breathless 'hello' answered him.

'Tony, what's the situation there?' Rhodey asked as firmly as he could.

'Oh, you know, much of the same, aliens and nukes, what's new with you?' He asked breathlessly.

'They're talking about releasing a nuke, Tony.' Rhodey said firmly.

'Do you think they will?' Tony asked taking out another Chitauri as it flew past him.

'Yes, Tony I do, you need to stop this before they find a reason to fire it.' Rhodey pleaded.

Tony flew past a swarm of Chitauri as they threatened to take out a bus of trapped passengers; he blasted them as efficiently as he could so that Black Widow and Captain America could help the passenger's to safety.

He shot up into the sky and returned his attention to Rhodey, 'I'm trying buddy, I really am,' he managed breathlessly.

'If they feel this isn't contained, the _will_ fire.' Rhodey explained.

'How much time do I have?' Tony flew through the city, weaving around the Chitauri as best as he could.

Rhodey cleared his throat, 'five minutes at the most.'

'Five minutes?' Tony spat back, 'ok, well, I'll see what I can do.' He grunted as a blast from the Chitauri on his tail clipped his leg.

'What happened?' Rhodey asked quickly.

'It's a getting a bit hairy out here buddy,' Tony managed through ragged breaths, 'make sure Pepper's safe alright.'

'_You're_ going to make sure she's safe, we'll see you soon.' Rhodey retorted with a slight hint of annoyance in his voice. How dare he insinuate this was the end.

'I hope so buddy.' Tony muttered in reply.

Rhodey clenched his fist as a knock on the door caught his attention.

'Look, Tony I have to go, something's coming in, just be careful alright?' Rhodey pleaded.

'You know me.' He replied with a hint of a grin.

Rhodey hung up hesitantly, he did know him, and that's what worried him.

He finally turned his attention to the young soldier who had come to bring him back to the office, 'what have we got?'

'Sir, word is that they are planning on firing the missile any minute.' He spoke quickly as they walked back to the other room.

The other men got to their feet, 'sir, this is bad.'

One of the men handed Rhodey a tablet with live feeds from the Military base.

'Missile fired, missile fired!' Another yelled as they caught sight of it on the news reports.

Rhodey's heart sunk, 'damn it, what the hell are they doing, this sis too soon!'

He hastily sat down and pulled open his laptop, he keyed in the coordinates for New York and the interface Tony installed came to life, 'they don't stand a chance, three minutes to impact.'

His eyes darted around the room at the shocked faces around him, all eyes glued on the TV screens.

'What is he doing?' One of the men asked looking to Rhodey.

He looked over at the TV and panic gripped him, Iron Man was chasing the incoming missile, he was closing in on it, closer and closer until he finally locked on to it, the aliens still on his tail, still firing at full force.

He sat frozen with the laptop gripped tightly, he watched his best friend soar higher and higher into the sky. Tendrils of pure fear wrapped themselves tightly around his heart as he noticed the portal in the sky growing larger by the minute and Iron Man was flying straight toward it.

Hushed whispers behind him seemed miles away, all he could focus on was the pounding of his heart echoing through his head, and the panicked voice of the news reporter, _"Tony Stark's Iron Man…."_

He watched on in silent horror as her reached the gaping hole in the sky and disappeared into it.

Darkness…silence…terror.

'Tony.' He let out quietly.

No one spoke, not a single word was said and Rhodey felt the cold gripping his heart tighter.

'Come on Tony, get out of there.' He whispered to the TV.

A bright flash escaped from the tear and the portal began to close as the remaining aliens fell from the sky.

'Come on, come on.' He breathed.

Moments which seemed an eternity finally passed and a glimmer of red and gold caught his eye.

The men behind him erupted in a unified cheer but Rhodey's face remained frozen. He had flown in the War Machine enough times to know what 'flight' looked like, Tony was not flying, he was _falling. _

He gripped the chair and watched in horror as his best friend fell like a stone, the cheers behind him had ceased and the worried tension grew once more.

The news camera panned down and followed Tony falling from the sky, he was only yards away from crashing into the ground below, but a loud roar and blur of green came out from the streets below and caught him.

Rhodey exhaled a breath of relief along with everyone else in the room.

He edged closer to the TV, as close as the camera could pan, he still couldn't make out the movement below and he couldn't make out whether Tony was moving, he swallowed the lump in his throat and raised his phone to his ear and cautiously dialled Tony's number.

All that answered him was a simple, but terrifying phrase, 'this call could not be connected, the connection has been lost…'

He bowed his head in defeat, 'no,' a barely audible whisper escaped his lips as a comforting squeeze of his shoulder only expressed further what he already knew.

His best friend was gone, he was gone.

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**Let me know what you thought of that, also please keep the requests coming in, I love challenges!**


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